More studies:
Barry Maletzky, MD and Kevin McGovern, Ph.D. of The Sexual Abuse Clinic of Portland Oregon followed about 5000 offenders treated in their clinic and similar clinics between 1973 and 1990 using behavior oriented methods. About 3700 of these were pedophiles -770 were exhibitionists. The remainder were referred for a variety of other paraphilias. Criteria for "success" included:
* No re-arrest
* Self report of no maladaptive sexual behaviors
* Reduced deviant arousal maintained post - treatment as verified on penile plethysmograph
* "Significant other" ratings of patient behavior
Using these stringent measures to follow some men for as long as 17 years post treatment, success was achieved with 94.7% of heterosexual and 86.4% of homosexual pedophiles. Rapists showed 73.5% success, exhibitionists and public masturbators about 92% , with men referred for various other paraphilias ranging from 100% for zoophiliacs to 80% for frotteurs. These data do not represent a controlled study, but the sample is large and with success criteria as stringent as they were, the data gives strong indication that treatment is effective for a great many offenders.
Another study: Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment (Vol. 14, No. 2, 2002.
Similar success has been had with sex offender treatment for juveniles. Here are some numbers from a Texas study:
The capital offender and sex offender programs were found to be particularly effective in reducing violent offenses:
* receiving any sex offender treatment reduced by 47% the likelihood of sex offenders being rearrested for a violent offense within one year; and
* only one of 257 (0.4%) sex offenders receiving sex offender treatment was rearrested for a violent sex offense within one year and only four of 219 (1.8%) of sex offenders receiving treatment were rearrested for a violent sex offense within three years.
In Vermont, a study showed only a 7% recidivism rate among treated offenders after a ten-year period.
Hunt County, Texas strongly advocates treatment, including placing some sex offenders on probation so they can obtain treatment that is not always available in jail:
The bottom line is that many offenders are just not appropriate for community supervision. For offenders that have a long history of sexual abuse or violence, indicate high risk, or show no interest in changing their behavior or thinking, prison may be the only way to adequately protect the public. But for those deemed appropriate by the courts, community supervision can benefit the public.
Hunt County CSCD believes that the history witnessed with the SOAP and other programs like it across the nation demonstrates that it is possible to properly supervise offenders in the community without sacrificing public safety.
Hunt County concludes:
After spending five or more years in the Texas prison system without treatment, would anyone expect that they would emerge more responsible, more empathetic, and less sexually deviant?
....a reduction of just 1% in recidivism pays for the treatment of all treated sex offenders by reducing costs related to investigations, prosecutions, and incarceration (and research shows that sex offender treatment is more effective than that).
Brent Brents refused sex offender treatment in prison. At the time he was sentenced, there was no indeterminate sentencing range providing for up to a life sentence, as there is now in Colorado. If he is guilty of this week's crimes, he needs to be locked up. And, he will be. But there are thousands of other sex offenders around the country who should not be lumped in the same boat as Brent Brents. One-size-fits-all justice is no justice at all.